Sunday wasn't much better for river traffic. This particular ship was fueling at the Mistersky Dock. I figured I would wait for it to go up and then I would try to catch her at Belle Isle.
I wish I had a better idea of how long it takes for a ship to fuel. Something tells me that it may depend on the ship because they might use different types of fuel.
I think the most common type of fuel is Bunker C. It is a heavy residual fuel from the distillation process.
It is also the reason why many companies have been installing scrubbers on their stacks.
Without the scrubbers, they will have to go to a higher grade of fuel which means a higher cost.
I think the American Mariner was heading up from Ashtabula and she was heading up to Superior, Wisconsin.
She would be picking up iron ore there and I think she is heading down to Gary to both deliver her last load and head into layup.
I wish the ships were a little faster because if they were, I had a chance to catch two of them today. I think many of the ships are delivering the last of their loads.
The Welland Canal closed at the end of the year and is currently drained. The Soo Locks closed at 4:00A.M. this morning after the Walter J. McCarthy passed through. The Welland will open sometime the week of March 8th. The Soo Locks will open on March 15th.
Anyway, I've discovered that there is always some shipping during the off season. Those are ships that don't need to use either set of locks.
So I don't say good bye to the shipping season.
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